The first time I steeped the tea for 3 minutes 30 seconds. You could really smell the cream. The black tea leaf flavor was over powering. I could hardley taste the the cream, or vanilla. It was toasty yet had a touch of caramel. The after taste was on the bitter side but thats where the cream finally came out. Vanilla still didn’t show up.
I steeped the leaves again for the same temp but for 5 minutes and I have to say the second steeping (same leaves) is fantastic. This is where all the flavors come out without that bitter after taste. Its a sweet caramel with that warm vanilla and the cream makes it seem like I put a dash of milk in there.